I got the idea when stumbling on Quantum Leap's theme song. LOL.
Tsukasa Kadoya, suffering from partial amnesia and awoke in a world that is not his own. Trapped, Tsukasa finds himself leaping from world to world, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap, will be the leap home.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Goseiger promo 1
Aaahhh, pink and yellow are so cute!!!
Yellow is Niwa Mikiho, alias Mikki, apparently a member of a J-Pop girl group called Canary Club
Pink is Satou Rika. Just search her name in google and youtube... nuff said. :D
Super Sentai, entertaining all ages, literally.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Goseiger, 2010 Super Sentai
Well, the pics are floating on the web already for the 2010 Super Sentai.
Hey, the helmets have mouths on them, and the colors, just like... Goggle Five! LOL
Now all wee need to know is which pretty boys and gravure idols they pick for the casts. LOL. Super Sentai, entertaining all ages forever.
Hey, the helmets have mouths on them, and the colors, just like... Goggle Five! LOL
Now all wee need to know is which pretty boys and gravure idols they pick for the casts. LOL. Super Sentai, entertaining all ages forever.
Avatar and Sherlock Holmes
2 new movies that I watched. My review, and the obvious precaution of spoiler alert.
1. Avatar
I watched this movie in 3D (alas, the IMAX 3D tickets were quickly sold out, so the standard 3D would have to do). Pretty impressive visuals. This movie is a showcase of how far CGI technology in cinema has become. It's just amazing the way they portrayed Pandora's colorful and lush jungle environment. The 3D effects are not being overdone either (although there are few obvious scenes that are there simply for the 3D effects). It's definitely a visual treat.
As for the story, well, if you saw the trailer, you already know the story. It's the typical "soldier went undercover to gain information on the opposing party, fell in love with a girl of the opposing party, and decided to defend them" story with a scifi background. It's also portrayed the action of invading another culture/country (or in this case, planet) to gain their resources for profit (sounds familiar?). It's a very interesting portrayal of current world issues with a sci-fi twist. Other than that, nothing special. Guy falls in love with the girl, girl falls in love with the guy, girl thinks guy betrayed her, guy makes a com-back, war, the good guys won, the end. The movie itself is pretty long, a bit more than 2 and 1/2 hour. It pays though, as the pacing of the movie seems pretty good, not overly rushed.
The sci-fi part itself is, unfortunately, not well explored. Pandora planet is apparently a giant mesh network, where information can be transferred to and from, this includes brain signals. Heck, how did they make the avatars to begin with? What happened to earth? (Jake said that the "sky people's" home were no longer green or something). When Jake found out that Na'vi can transfer a mind into another body, why didn't he do it right away, thus not having to worry the enemy getting into his real body? And wasn't that chick turned into a zombie in Resident Evil? LOL.
Anyway, impressive visuals, pretty cool watching it in 3D, so so story and acting, surprised to see Sigourney Weaver in it. Pretty entertaining, but nothing to write about the story. To be honest, I'm tired of sci-fi movies that portrays the future and/or technology as bad. This is why I like Star Trek, which seems to be the only sci-fi franchise that portrays us, humans on earth, turning for the better in the future (watch any Start Trek episode/movie, and you won't see a muscly jock military soldier gungho with machine guns).
2. Sherlock Holmes
This movie was a quite a surprise for me. I like detective stories. When I saw the trailer, I was prepared to be disappointed as the trailer seems to show this new Sherlock Holmes as an action movie filled with Holmes fighting, not the image I have with Sherlock Holmes the great detective. In short, I'm afraid for a too dumbed down "Sherlock Holmes" movie. Well, the movie turned out to be very good. Sure, the fightings are in there, but Sherlock Holmes is still Sherlock Holmes, paying attention to details and deducing things from observations. Also, during his fights, he fought using his brain, planning his attacks from a science/medical point of view. Not too shabby. I'm sure the action and jokes are there to appease the mainstream audience, but they don't dumb down Holmes' detective skills. However, they also seems to hope the audience already know about Sherlock Holmes stories/characters (I have no idea who Irene Adler was), which may be a good thing so no time is wasted in the movie explaining the back story or whatnot.
In short, an extremely entertaining movie. This movie also setup for sequels as it introduces Professor Moriarty in the end, Holmes' well-known nemesis. My only gripe with this movie is that the person sitting next to me in the theater smelled awful.
1. Avatar
I watched this movie in 3D (alas, the IMAX 3D tickets were quickly sold out, so the standard 3D would have to do). Pretty impressive visuals. This movie is a showcase of how far CGI technology in cinema has become. It's just amazing the way they portrayed Pandora's colorful and lush jungle environment. The 3D effects are not being overdone either (although there are few obvious scenes that are there simply for the 3D effects). It's definitely a visual treat.
As for the story, well, if you saw the trailer, you already know the story. It's the typical "soldier went undercover to gain information on the opposing party, fell in love with a girl of the opposing party, and decided to defend them" story with a scifi background. It's also portrayed the action of invading another culture/country (or in this case, planet) to gain their resources for profit (sounds familiar?). It's a very interesting portrayal of current world issues with a sci-fi twist. Other than that, nothing special. Guy falls in love with the girl, girl falls in love with the guy, girl thinks guy betrayed her, guy makes a com-back, war, the good guys won, the end. The movie itself is pretty long, a bit more than 2 and 1/2 hour. It pays though, as the pacing of the movie seems pretty good, not overly rushed.
The sci-fi part itself is, unfortunately, not well explored. Pandora planet is apparently a giant mesh network, where information can be transferred to and from, this includes brain signals. Heck, how did they make the avatars to begin with? What happened to earth? (Jake said that the "sky people's" home were no longer green or something). When Jake found out that Na'vi can transfer a mind into another body, why didn't he do it right away, thus not having to worry the enemy getting into his real body? And wasn't that chick turned into a zombie in Resident Evil? LOL.
Anyway, impressive visuals, pretty cool watching it in 3D, so so story and acting, surprised to see Sigourney Weaver in it. Pretty entertaining, but nothing to write about the story. To be honest, I'm tired of sci-fi movies that portrays the future and/or technology as bad. This is why I like Star Trek, which seems to be the only sci-fi franchise that portrays us, humans on earth, turning for the better in the future (watch any Start Trek episode/movie, and you won't see a muscly jock military soldier gungho with machine guns).
2. Sherlock Holmes
This movie was a quite a surprise for me. I like detective stories. When I saw the trailer, I was prepared to be disappointed as the trailer seems to show this new Sherlock Holmes as an action movie filled with Holmes fighting, not the image I have with Sherlock Holmes the great detective. In short, I'm afraid for a too dumbed down "Sherlock Holmes" movie. Well, the movie turned out to be very good. Sure, the fightings are in there, but Sherlock Holmes is still Sherlock Holmes, paying attention to details and deducing things from observations. Also, during his fights, he fought using his brain, planning his attacks from a science/medical point of view. Not too shabby. I'm sure the action and jokes are there to appease the mainstream audience, but they don't dumb down Holmes' detective skills. However, they also seems to hope the audience already know about Sherlock Holmes stories/characters (I have no idea who Irene Adler was), which may be a good thing so no time is wasted in the movie explaining the back story or whatnot.
In short, an extremely entertaining movie. This movie also setup for sequels as it introduces Professor Moriarty in the end, Holmes' well-known nemesis. My only gripe with this movie is that the person sitting next to me in the theater smelled awful.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
More J-Dorama
Haven't been posting for a while due to twitter. Twitter feels more convenient than blogging. Oh well, now I feel that I need to do an update. For what? More J-Dorama, of course.
First, Tokyo Dogs.
Starring Shun Oguri and Mizushima Hiro. It's another police/detective dorama. It's kinda funny considering Mizushima Hiro starred in Mr. Brain as a cop too. However, this time he's more like a cop with Nanba senpai's personality. LOL. Oguri's character, on the other hand, is a rigid serious cop from the US. Pretty hilarious combo, especially when Oguri's mom always calling him in the middle of the action. Of course, the Kamen Rider connection is here, with Hiro being Kamen Rider Kabuto (the real one, not the lame one from Decade).
Second one is Otomen.
Where to start? First, we see a son that loves playing with girl's stuff and stuffed animals. Next, the father announced to his son and wife that he wants to be a woman. Then the wife, while being admitted into a hospital due to the shock from what the father said, told her son that he has to be manly. LOL. This is just the start of the dorama. You can tell things is going to be extremely hilarious. So the son, now in high school, tries to become manly by joining the kendo club and acting manly, while actually like sewing and cooking, and still playing with stuffed animals at home (can't stop laughing seeing his friend's expression when he saw that). He met a seemingly normal girl, that in the end of the first episode, actually kicks ass and protects him. LOL. This is why I love J-dorama. You wouldn't see anything (especially about high-school life) with this kind of story in the US. Another reason I love J-Dorama.
The announcement:
The wife's reaction:
Asuka with the stuffed animal he fixed:
His friend's reaction, very touched:
LOL. Oh, of course, too add on the hilarity, Asuka's antagonist/rival (acting as a bully, but seems to know a lot about flowers... LOL) is Kimura Ryo, the same actor that was all over Nanba senpai in Hanakimi (Nakao), and all over Chiaki senpai in Nodame. This is going to be some seriously hilarious show. But wait, what about the Kamen Rider connection? Of course there's one. Seto Koji, aka Kamen Rider Kiva, is in the show too, albeit as a supporting role.
Lastly, I can't wait for the new Nodame Cantabille movie. Hopefully the fansubber group can do their magic.
First, Tokyo Dogs.
Starring Shun Oguri and Mizushima Hiro. It's another police/detective dorama. It's kinda funny considering Mizushima Hiro starred in Mr. Brain as a cop too. However, this time he's more like a cop with Nanba senpai's personality. LOL. Oguri's character, on the other hand, is a rigid serious cop from the US. Pretty hilarious combo, especially when Oguri's mom always calling him in the middle of the action. Of course, the Kamen Rider connection is here, with Hiro being Kamen Rider Kabuto (the real one, not the lame one from Decade).
Second one is Otomen.
Where to start? First, we see a son that loves playing with girl's stuff and stuffed animals. Next, the father announced to his son and wife that he wants to be a woman. Then the wife, while being admitted into a hospital due to the shock from what the father said, told her son that he has to be manly. LOL. This is just the start of the dorama. You can tell things is going to be extremely hilarious. So the son, now in high school, tries to become manly by joining the kendo club and acting manly, while actually like sewing and cooking, and still playing with stuffed animals at home (can't stop laughing seeing his friend's expression when he saw that). He met a seemingly normal girl, that in the end of the first episode, actually kicks ass and protects him. LOL. This is why I love J-dorama. You wouldn't see anything (especially about high-school life) with this kind of story in the US. Another reason I love J-Dorama.
The announcement:
The wife's reaction:
Asuka with the stuffed animal he fixed:
His friend's reaction, very touched:
LOL. Oh, of course, too add on the hilarity, Asuka's antagonist/rival (acting as a bully, but seems to know a lot about flowers... LOL) is Kimura Ryo, the same actor that was all over Nanba senpai in Hanakimi (Nakao), and all over Chiaki senpai in Nodame. This is going to be some seriously hilarious show. But wait, what about the Kamen Rider connection? Of course there's one. Seto Koji, aka Kamen Rider Kiva, is in the show too, albeit as a supporting role.
Lastly, I can't wait for the new Nodame Cantabille movie. Hopefully the fansubber group can do their magic.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
New slew of Apple products
Yesterday, Apple updated a slew of their products as rumored. Here's my quick take on them:
1. iMac: The most noticeable difference is the 16x9 aspect ratio of the screen, compared to 16x10 on previous iMacs. That changes the size, with the small one being 21.5" and the big one being 27".
Things I like (that makes me want one):
-Aluminum back instead of plastic
-1080p resolution on the 21.5"
-SD card slot
-Support for Apple earbud with mic
-Option of discreet GPU for the 21.5" (previously, the small iMac only have integrated GPU)
-The 27" model supports video-in, so it can be used as an external monitor
-Wireless keyboard and the new magic mouse are standard.
Things that I don't like:
-The option for the new intel Core i5/i7 processor are only available on the 27" model. This is highly annoying. Not everyone want the giant 27" iMac, nor have the desktop space for it. Heck, my TV is only 25". This kind of upselling is typical of Apple.
-Previously, iMacs have been using notebook processors due to the design and thermal concern. Now is the first time Apple is using desktop processor (according to blogs like engadget) on the iMac. Who knows what kind of problems might come up (typical Rev A issues).
A nice update, but I wish Apple push in the Core i5/i7 processor across the board.
2. Mac mini. Just a minor spec bump from the previous mini. Alas, no price drop, and the value of the mini remains questionable. What is interesting is that now Apple is selling a Mac mini server, a mini without an optical drive, but with an additional hard-drive in it. This sounds like a great idea and I would love to get one, except that Apple is selling it for a whopping $999. Why? Because they bundle in Snow Leopard server OS with it. Again, the typical upselling. :(
3. Macbook. The white plastic Macbook got a makeover.
Things I like:
-Lighter and more sturdy construction
-Glass trackpad
-7 hours of battery life
-Support for Apple headset with mic
Things that I don't like:
-Firewire is gone. :(
-No price drop on the price point
-No option for SSD. This wouldn't be a problem in the past as it was pretty easy to upgrade the Macbook's hard-drive, but now with the sealed battery, it's much harder to open the thing up just to upgrade the hard-drive. Boo! Hard-drives are the most likely component to fail, and making it not easily user accessible is highly annoying.
No that impressive. Imo, loosing Firewire makes this Macbook more like a downgrade. Expect more demand on the refurbished older Macbooks (grab one if you must have Firewire).
4. Magic Mouse. With the recent news that Apple lost the "Mighty Mouse" name, the name change is highly expected. Finally, another Steve Jobs' obsession coming to fruition, a mouse with no buttons. LOL. Instead of a scroll ball, the surface is multi-touch capable. It's natural to do scrolling on this, but multiple fingers gestures are pretty awkward. It is standard on iMacs, and seems to have better battery life. Oh well, at least you don't have to clean the stupid ball on the old Mighty Mouse anymore.
Other updates include the new remote, and updated Airport Extreme (thus Time Capsule). Not too exciting. Another typical Apple update, with plenty things to love and hate.
1. iMac: The most noticeable difference is the 16x9 aspect ratio of the screen, compared to 16x10 on previous iMacs. That changes the size, with the small one being 21.5" and the big one being 27".
Things I like (that makes me want one):
-Aluminum back instead of plastic
-1080p resolution on the 21.5"
-SD card slot
-Support for Apple earbud with mic
-Option of discreet GPU for the 21.5" (previously, the small iMac only have integrated GPU)
-The 27" model supports video-in, so it can be used as an external monitor
-Wireless keyboard and the new magic mouse are standard.
Things that I don't like:
-The option for the new intel Core i5/i7 processor are only available on the 27" model. This is highly annoying. Not everyone want the giant 27" iMac, nor have the desktop space for it. Heck, my TV is only 25". This kind of upselling is typical of Apple.
-Previously, iMacs have been using notebook processors due to the design and thermal concern. Now is the first time Apple is using desktop processor (according to blogs like engadget) on the iMac. Who knows what kind of problems might come up (typical Rev A issues).
A nice update, but I wish Apple push in the Core i5/i7 processor across the board.
2. Mac mini. Just a minor spec bump from the previous mini. Alas, no price drop, and the value of the mini remains questionable. What is interesting is that now Apple is selling a Mac mini server, a mini without an optical drive, but with an additional hard-drive in it. This sounds like a great idea and I would love to get one, except that Apple is selling it for a whopping $999. Why? Because they bundle in Snow Leopard server OS with it. Again, the typical upselling. :(
3. Macbook. The white plastic Macbook got a makeover.
Things I like:
-Lighter and more sturdy construction
-Glass trackpad
-7 hours of battery life
-Support for Apple headset with mic
Things that I don't like:
-Firewire is gone. :(
-No price drop on the price point
-No option for SSD. This wouldn't be a problem in the past as it was pretty easy to upgrade the Macbook's hard-drive, but now with the sealed battery, it's much harder to open the thing up just to upgrade the hard-drive. Boo! Hard-drives are the most likely component to fail, and making it not easily user accessible is highly annoying.
No that impressive. Imo, loosing Firewire makes this Macbook more like a downgrade. Expect more demand on the refurbished older Macbooks (grab one if you must have Firewire).
4. Magic Mouse. With the recent news that Apple lost the "Mighty Mouse" name, the name change is highly expected. Finally, another Steve Jobs' obsession coming to fruition, a mouse with no buttons. LOL. Instead of a scroll ball, the surface is multi-touch capable. It's natural to do scrolling on this, but multiple fingers gestures are pretty awkward. It is standard on iMacs, and seems to have better battery life. Oh well, at least you don't have to clean the stupid ball on the old Mighty Mouse anymore.
Other updates include the new remote, and updated Airport Extreme (thus Time Capsule). Not too exciting. Another typical Apple update, with plenty things to love and hate.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
My first AT&T wireless bill
Well, I got my first AT&T wireless bill. (Why? We'll get to that in my upcoming post) Why am I doing a blog post about a bill? Because it came with a manual! Yeah, that's right. A manual for a bill.
We usually think a bill as simple. It just shows you what you owe and what you're paying for. But of course, leave it to the wireless carriers to complicate a simple common sense approach by adding bogus fees, charges, taxes, etc, to the point that people are simply confused that they have to pay more that what was advertised (for example, the fees/taxes/charges on my bill is around $10 already!). I'm guessing AT&T did this because they must have gotten a lot of phone calls from people demanding explanations about their bills. Of course, it would have been more logical to simply make the bill simpler, and advertise prices as they will be on the bill. But no, logic is not the way US wireless carriers work. :P
I found this to be too funny that I have to make a video. LOL.
We usually think a bill as simple. It just shows you what you owe and what you're paying for. But of course, leave it to the wireless carriers to complicate a simple common sense approach by adding bogus fees, charges, taxes, etc, to the point that people are simply confused that they have to pay more that what was advertised (for example, the fees/taxes/charges on my bill is around $10 already!). I'm guessing AT&T did this because they must have gotten a lot of phone calls from people demanding explanations about their bills. Of course, it would have been more logical to simply make the bill simpler, and advertise prices as they will be on the bill. But no, logic is not the way US wireless carriers work. :P
I found this to be too funny that I have to make a video. LOL.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
T-Mobile's myTouch 3G Quick Impression
I stopped by a T-Mobile store yesterday to play with the HTC myTouch 3G. HTC myTouch 3G is the US version of HTC magic, HTC's 2nd gen Android smartphone.
The phone itself feels fairly compact, not as bulky as I thought. Definitely not as bulky as the G1 because the myTouch 3G doesn't have a physical keyboard. If you're coming from a non-touch-screen dumb-phone/S60/Windows Mobile, you'll be amazed by the UI. It uses capacitive touch screen, like the iPhone, thus offers more responsiveness than the likes of resistive touch screens that are commonplace in S60 and Windows Mobile phones. Touch is quite responsive. Having a good touch interface really change the way you interact with the phone. A lot of things become more natural than pressing buttons.
Google maps is awesome. The myTouch 3G has a built-in A-GPS and digital compass. Paired those with Google maps' street view, and you have a completely new experience. The digital compass will keep track on where you're facing automatically. All the other apps are standard fare. The music player is just a basic player. The camera doesn't seem to be that great, but it might be simply because I'm playing with a demo unit.
Like I said, if you're coming from a non-touch screen phones, or smartphones that are designed to use stylus/using resistive touch screen (S60, Winmo), Android's UI is surreal. Considering that this is just version 1.5 of the OS, it's quite an amazing accomplishment. Now, note that I didn't mention the iPhone.
I don't have the iPhone, but I've been using the iPod Touch since the 1st gen. Let's face it, Apple nailed the iPhone OS' UI pretty good. Although the myTouch 3G uses capacitive touch screen, I find the responsiveness to be slightly below my iPod Touch. This is very prevalent when typing on the virtual keyboard. Although the myTouch 3G has auto-correction, which helps a lot, I find myself mistyping letter far too often compared when I'm typing on my iPod Touch. Then there's multi-touch, which is non-existent on the myTouch 3G. Multi-touch makes the iPhone's touch UI to feel very natural, like pinching in/out to zoom in/out. I find that the lack of multi-touch makes the Google maps and internet browser apps on the myTouch 3G to be less intuitive. Then there's the menu button on the myTouch 3G. Really, why do I have to go away from a big touch-screen to press a small button on the bottom to pop up a menu? It detracts me from the whole touch experience. Not cool.
A side note, as far as UI responsivess on a capacitive touch screen, imo the ZuneHD is even better than the iPod Touch, thanks to its nVidia Tegra processor.
So, there's my quick impression on the myTouch 3G. It has a much better user experience compared to the plethora of dumb-phones/resistive touch smartphones. However, Apple really set the bar pretty high. Good thing is, Android is open source, and you can see how quick it's improving going from 1.0 to 1.5. With more and more phones coming out using Android, we will see more and more interesting features. Motorola already announced its Android phone, the Cliq, which is focused on social networking. HTC Hero, HTC's 3rd gen Android phone, will have multi-touch. Once the OS reached 2.0, we may see Sony Ericsson's xPeria X3 using Android.
At this point in time, a regular consumer will have a better user experience on the iPhone. As far as subsidized price, it's the same price as the iPhone. iPhone has more memory, but myTouch 3G has microSD slot. The downside of the iPhone in the US is that it's locked with AT&T, and T-Mobile provides better value in the monthly bill. I do hope, and rooting for Android to be as good, if not better as a platform.
The phone itself feels fairly compact, not as bulky as I thought. Definitely not as bulky as the G1 because the myTouch 3G doesn't have a physical keyboard. If you're coming from a non-touch-screen dumb-phone/S60/Windows Mobile, you'll be amazed by the UI. It uses capacitive touch screen, like the iPhone, thus offers more responsiveness than the likes of resistive touch screens that are commonplace in S60 and Windows Mobile phones. Touch is quite responsive. Having a good touch interface really change the way you interact with the phone. A lot of things become more natural than pressing buttons.
Google maps is awesome. The myTouch 3G has a built-in A-GPS and digital compass. Paired those with Google maps' street view, and you have a completely new experience. The digital compass will keep track on where you're facing automatically. All the other apps are standard fare. The music player is just a basic player. The camera doesn't seem to be that great, but it might be simply because I'm playing with a demo unit.
Like I said, if you're coming from a non-touch screen phones, or smartphones that are designed to use stylus/using resistive touch screen (S60, Winmo), Android's UI is surreal. Considering that this is just version 1.5 of the OS, it's quite an amazing accomplishment. Now, note that I didn't mention the iPhone.
I don't have the iPhone, but I've been using the iPod Touch since the 1st gen. Let's face it, Apple nailed the iPhone OS' UI pretty good. Although the myTouch 3G uses capacitive touch screen, I find the responsiveness to be slightly below my iPod Touch. This is very prevalent when typing on the virtual keyboard. Although the myTouch 3G has auto-correction, which helps a lot, I find myself mistyping letter far too often compared when I'm typing on my iPod Touch. Then there's multi-touch, which is non-existent on the myTouch 3G. Multi-touch makes the iPhone's touch UI to feel very natural, like pinching in/out to zoom in/out. I find that the lack of multi-touch makes the Google maps and internet browser apps on the myTouch 3G to be less intuitive. Then there's the menu button on the myTouch 3G. Really, why do I have to go away from a big touch-screen to press a small button on the bottom to pop up a menu? It detracts me from the whole touch experience. Not cool.
A side note, as far as UI responsivess on a capacitive touch screen, imo the ZuneHD is even better than the iPod Touch, thanks to its nVidia Tegra processor.
So, there's my quick impression on the myTouch 3G. It has a much better user experience compared to the plethora of dumb-phones/resistive touch smartphones. However, Apple really set the bar pretty high. Good thing is, Android is open source, and you can see how quick it's improving going from 1.0 to 1.5. With more and more phones coming out using Android, we will see more and more interesting features. Motorola already announced its Android phone, the Cliq, which is focused on social networking. HTC Hero, HTC's 3rd gen Android phone, will have multi-touch. Once the OS reached 2.0, we may see Sony Ericsson's xPeria X3 using Android.
At this point in time, a regular consumer will have a better user experience on the iPhone. As far as subsidized price, it's the same price as the iPhone. iPhone has more memory, but myTouch 3G has microSD slot. The downside of the iPhone in the US is that it's locked with AT&T, and T-Mobile provides better value in the monthly bill. I do hope, and rooting for Android to be as good, if not better as a platform.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
9/9/09 Apple Special Event impression
You can download the Special Event keynote from iTunes. I'll be going through the keynote chronologically.
1. Steve Jobs appeared, alive and well, albeit super skinny. Once we go through the whole lackluster event, I think this is the biggest news of all.
2. Genius. Blah, who cares. I already pointed out in the past that Genius to me is stupid. Apple now put the Genius feature for apps. Will see how it goes. I don't have the iPhone, so no ringtones for me. However, $1.29? Really? I thought it was 99c and you can make your own (this option is still available though). In short, ringtones are still a rip-off. Make your own and save your money.
3. iTunes 9. The new iTunes store does feel better than the old one. Definitely easier to navigate. The catch? No more shopping cart. So don't just click happy as it's all 1-click buy now. You have to utilize the wish list to simulate the old shopping cart (yeah, they said wish list is a requested feature, while what they did was renaming the shopping cart). iTunes LP is what cocktail becomes. It's cool, but until they have iTunes LPs for Eurobeat artists like Dave Rodgers, I won't be bothered. They also added Extras to movies, so your iTunes movie purchase is filled with non-useful content that you don't care, like the DVD version. :P
4. Syncing is much more granular now. Instead of having to make individual playlists for specific artists/genres to be synced, iTunes 9 have that option built-in. This is a nice addition. Syncing is also more granular with podcasts and videos, allowing you to specify certain podcasts/videos that you want in the device indefinitely.
5. iTunes 9 Home Sharing. This is a nice feature for those that have iTunes libraries scattered on different computers. Finally iTunes can automatically aggregate the library content between computers with couple of clicks. Very useful if you keep a library on a desktop and another on a laptop. The catch, you need iTunes account, and it only works for computers with the same iTunes account (so no copying music from friends/other family members). Yeah, the recording industry is not that stupid. Kudos to them to limit what you can do with your own content. Luckily, iTunes are now DRM free, so you can always do it the old-fashion way. Home Sharing just makes it a bit more convenient.
6. You can rearrange the App icons of your iPod Touch/iPhone from iTunes 9. Nice long-awaited feature, but I want folders to group certain apps instead of having pages of clutter. Oh well, maybe iTunes 10.
7. iPod Touch. The most disappointing and lackluster announcement. Everybody, including me, is expecting a new Touch with camera, and maybe GPS+compass. Phil went on and on about apps and games, something that everybody knows already. Dissing the PSP and DS won't change the fact that the "new" Touch is NOT new. I guess the rumor that there's production/manufacturing issues with the camera unit is true. So, Apple is focusing the Touch for gaming. Imo, wrong move. Without a significant hardware update, the ZuneHD with nVidia Tegra and 720p HD output + HD radio is a LOT more tempting for enthusiasts, especially Windows users.
So, what do Apple have? 8GB for $199 (the old 2G), 32GB for $299, and 64GB for $399. No camera. The 32 and 64GB version are said to be "faster" and support OpenGL ES 2.0, but no confirmation yet whether it has the same innards as the iPhone 3GS. Whatever, Tegra on the ZuneHD sounds better and better. For comparison, ZuneHD 16GB will be $219, and the 32GB will be $289. However you see it, if you're a Windows user and looking for a new toy, the ZuneHD is extremely tempting and gives better value than the Touch, unless you're on a Mac or you want apps.
Other than the ZuneHD, there is not much competition here though. Creative's Zii is not out yet. Sony X series? That's an even worse joke. 16GB for $299, and 32GB for $399 for a standalone MP3 player? I expect Sony to put the X series on clearance soon.
How did I do on my prediction? Well, I was wrong about most of it, only got the 2G 8GB for $199 right.
No Phil, the iPod Touch is not the best iPod yet as it cannot even do shuffle-by-album, something that the Classic and nano can do for ages. The Dell in the back pocket is cute though, something you copied from Sony's Vaio P ad? :P
8. iPod Classic survived! Really, a lot of bloggers, including me, expected Apple to axe the Classic. I didn't even know there's a 160GB hard-drive that thin yet. Oh well, this is good news for some people. Apple is the only one left that sells hard-drive based MP3 player. Microsoft already axed their hard-drive based Zunes. 160GB for $249. No drop in price as Apple knows they're the only player in town now in this category. No new features either, not even the voice over, something that I predicted. Again, I missed the mark, only matching the price point of $249, simply because I was not aware of the thin 160GB being available.
9. iPod Shuffle, the dreaded 3G Shuffle is sticking. Phil kept saying it's the "easiest" iPod to use. Liar. Apple didn't even bother to drop the price. It's still the 4GB for $79, and only added 2GB for $59. Oh, how about an even more expensive piece of useless metal, 4GB stainless steel 3G Shuffle for $99. $99? Really Apple? For something that is barely usable? Let alone that, it's not even gapless capable. Utter fail!
Let's see the competitors:
-Sony's new E series, not as tiny as the 3G Shuffle for sure, but it is much more usable, compatible with any OS, 8GB for $79, 16GB for $99. So, a tiny piece or metal for $99, or a usable MP3 player with screen and buttons, and 4 times the capacity for the same price. Which one would you pick? You have to be a super harcore Apple fanboy to choose the Shuffle.
-Sandisk Sansa Clip+, again, not as tiny as the 3G shuffle, but more usable due to a screen and buttons. 8GB for $69, 4GB for $49. Sure, it's plastic instead of metal, but usability goes up 1000x with only half the price. Take that Apple! Really, Apple could be losing the low-end market here, a place where Apple is doing decently before with the 2G Shuffle.
10. The new 5G nano. So, the iPod that is getting a video camera is the nano, not the iPod Touch. Huh? Yeah, that's what I said. I'm not really sure Apple's strategy here. Steve Jobs said they're targeting the Flip camcorder market. I don't know if that's a market the nano should be going though. The Flip market is going away anyway, as most of today's compact point-n-shoot digicams at similar price point can also take videos (some even in HD), have better optics, optical zoom, and upgradeable memory. Oh, and they take much better pictures than the Flip. So, imo the Flip itself is not going to last long, and Apple wants to go in? The Touch is in a better position to have a video camera as it has the OS for video editing, picture/video uploading via wifi, and apps. The nano has nothing of those. Even worse, the video camera on the new nano cannot take pictures.
On the other hand, there are quite a few surprises. The video itself is 640x480 30fps. Not too shabby, although I wish Apple added widescreen resolution. Also, according to the new spec, the new nano supports HE-AAC. Well, that's new. And yes, iTunes 9 allow ripping to HE-AAC now, max 80kbps. I think there's something going on here. Apple wouldn't just add this for no reason.
Now, the pricing. 8GB for $149, 16GB for $179. People that are not interested in the camera will look elsewhere, like Sony new E/S series (16GB E345 is $99, 16GB S545 is only $129). Even if you're interested in the camera, you have to wonder how's the video quality. No auto-focus? It's clear that Apple added the cheapo camera to keep the premium pricing. Really, if Sony, a company that is not that smart in term of pricing their products, can sell a 16GB MP3 player for $99, I expect Apple to do better.
11. Norah Jones. No Beatles. Nuff said.
So, a pretty lackluster event. The biggest news is, Steve Jobs is alive and well. Apple is missing the mark on everything except the Classic. The 3G Shuffle is as useless as it was, and instead of price drop, Apple upped the premium. The nano, instead of being cheaper, got a questionable video camera, and no significant price drop. The Touch? Where should I begin? Nothing new, weak pricing and featureset vs the ZuneHD. Microsoft, this is your big chance to push the ZuneHD as much as possible. Even better, just drop the price point to $199 and $249 for the 16GB and 32GB ZuneHD respectively. That might give Steve Jobs a bit of headache. Oh, and where's Mac support for the Zune? This is a rare chance for Microsoft to snag some Mac users. However, I doubt that MS is that smart (they cannot even put unicode fonts in the Zune).
Now, taking a step back, let's take a look at the iPod Touch lineup. Did you notice something missing? Yeah, no 16GB! There a jump from 8GB to 32GB. I wonder what is going on here. I can speculate that, assuming the production problems is true, that Apple has to fill the gap quick, and put the 8GB 2G Touch back. The 16GB was reserved for the intended new Touch with camera. Also, in the end, Steve said "See you soon." I'm guessing an October event, introducing the true 3G Touch with video camera, 16GB at $249 and 32GB at $349, filling the gaps nicely, co-existing with the current lineup. Voila! :)
There you go, my impression of the 9/9/09 Apple event, and with some analysis/rumor at the end to boot! :P
1. Steve Jobs appeared, alive and well, albeit super skinny. Once we go through the whole lackluster event, I think this is the biggest news of all.
2. Genius. Blah, who cares. I already pointed out in the past that Genius to me is stupid. Apple now put the Genius feature for apps. Will see how it goes. I don't have the iPhone, so no ringtones for me. However, $1.29? Really? I thought it was 99c and you can make your own (this option is still available though). In short, ringtones are still a rip-off. Make your own and save your money.
3. iTunes 9. The new iTunes store does feel better than the old one. Definitely easier to navigate. The catch? No more shopping cart. So don't just click happy as it's all 1-click buy now. You have to utilize the wish list to simulate the old shopping cart (yeah, they said wish list is a requested feature, while what they did was renaming the shopping cart). iTunes LP is what cocktail becomes. It's cool, but until they have iTunes LPs for Eurobeat artists like Dave Rodgers, I won't be bothered. They also added Extras to movies, so your iTunes movie purchase is filled with non-useful content that you don't care, like the DVD version. :P
4. Syncing is much more granular now. Instead of having to make individual playlists for specific artists/genres to be synced, iTunes 9 have that option built-in. This is a nice addition. Syncing is also more granular with podcasts and videos, allowing you to specify certain podcasts/videos that you want in the device indefinitely.
5. iTunes 9 Home Sharing. This is a nice feature for those that have iTunes libraries scattered on different computers. Finally iTunes can automatically aggregate the library content between computers with couple of clicks. Very useful if you keep a library on a desktop and another on a laptop. The catch, you need iTunes account, and it only works for computers with the same iTunes account (so no copying music from friends/other family members). Yeah, the recording industry is not that stupid. Kudos to them to limit what you can do with your own content. Luckily, iTunes are now DRM free, so you can always do it the old-fashion way. Home Sharing just makes it a bit more convenient.
6. You can rearrange the App icons of your iPod Touch/iPhone from iTunes 9. Nice long-awaited feature, but I want folders to group certain apps instead of having pages of clutter. Oh well, maybe iTunes 10.
7. iPod Touch. The most disappointing and lackluster announcement. Everybody, including me, is expecting a new Touch with camera, and maybe GPS+compass. Phil went on and on about apps and games, something that everybody knows already. Dissing the PSP and DS won't change the fact that the "new" Touch is NOT new. I guess the rumor that there's production/manufacturing issues with the camera unit is true. So, Apple is focusing the Touch for gaming. Imo, wrong move. Without a significant hardware update, the ZuneHD with nVidia Tegra and 720p HD output + HD radio is a LOT more tempting for enthusiasts, especially Windows users.
So, what do Apple have? 8GB for $199 (the old 2G), 32GB for $299, and 64GB for $399. No camera. The 32 and 64GB version are said to be "faster" and support OpenGL ES 2.0, but no confirmation yet whether it has the same innards as the iPhone 3GS. Whatever, Tegra on the ZuneHD sounds better and better. For comparison, ZuneHD 16GB will be $219, and the 32GB will be $289. However you see it, if you're a Windows user and looking for a new toy, the ZuneHD is extremely tempting and gives better value than the Touch, unless you're on a Mac or you want apps.
Other than the ZuneHD, there is not much competition here though. Creative's Zii is not out yet. Sony X series? That's an even worse joke. 16GB for $299, and 32GB for $399 for a standalone MP3 player? I expect Sony to put the X series on clearance soon.
How did I do on my prediction? Well, I was wrong about most of it, only got the 2G 8GB for $199 right.
No Phil, the iPod Touch is not the best iPod yet as it cannot even do shuffle-by-album, something that the Classic and nano can do for ages. The Dell in the back pocket is cute though, something you copied from Sony's Vaio P ad? :P
8. iPod Classic survived! Really, a lot of bloggers, including me, expected Apple to axe the Classic. I didn't even know there's a 160GB hard-drive that thin yet. Oh well, this is good news for some people. Apple is the only one left that sells hard-drive based MP3 player. Microsoft already axed their hard-drive based Zunes. 160GB for $249. No drop in price as Apple knows they're the only player in town now in this category. No new features either, not even the voice over, something that I predicted. Again, I missed the mark, only matching the price point of $249, simply because I was not aware of the thin 160GB being available.
9. iPod Shuffle, the dreaded 3G Shuffle is sticking. Phil kept saying it's the "easiest" iPod to use. Liar. Apple didn't even bother to drop the price. It's still the 4GB for $79, and only added 2GB for $59. Oh, how about an even more expensive piece of useless metal, 4GB stainless steel 3G Shuffle for $99. $99? Really Apple? For something that is barely usable? Let alone that, it's not even gapless capable. Utter fail!
Let's see the competitors:
-Sony's new E series, not as tiny as the 3G Shuffle for sure, but it is much more usable, compatible with any OS, 8GB for $79, 16GB for $99. So, a tiny piece or metal for $99, or a usable MP3 player with screen and buttons, and 4 times the capacity for the same price. Which one would you pick? You have to be a super harcore Apple fanboy to choose the Shuffle.
-Sandisk Sansa Clip+, again, not as tiny as the 3G shuffle, but more usable due to a screen and buttons. 8GB for $69, 4GB for $49. Sure, it's plastic instead of metal, but usability goes up 1000x with only half the price. Take that Apple! Really, Apple could be losing the low-end market here, a place where Apple is doing decently before with the 2G Shuffle.
10. The new 5G nano. So, the iPod that is getting a video camera is the nano, not the iPod Touch. Huh? Yeah, that's what I said. I'm not really sure Apple's strategy here. Steve Jobs said they're targeting the Flip camcorder market. I don't know if that's a market the nano should be going though. The Flip market is going away anyway, as most of today's compact point-n-shoot digicams at similar price point can also take videos (some even in HD), have better optics, optical zoom, and upgradeable memory. Oh, and they take much better pictures than the Flip. So, imo the Flip itself is not going to last long, and Apple wants to go in? The Touch is in a better position to have a video camera as it has the OS for video editing, picture/video uploading via wifi, and apps. The nano has nothing of those. Even worse, the video camera on the new nano cannot take pictures.
On the other hand, there are quite a few surprises. The video itself is 640x480 30fps. Not too shabby, although I wish Apple added widescreen resolution. Also, according to the new spec, the new nano supports HE-AAC. Well, that's new. And yes, iTunes 9 allow ripping to HE-AAC now, max 80kbps. I think there's something going on here. Apple wouldn't just add this for no reason.
Now, the pricing. 8GB for $149, 16GB for $179. People that are not interested in the camera will look elsewhere, like Sony new E/S series (16GB E345 is $99, 16GB S545 is only $129). Even if you're interested in the camera, you have to wonder how's the video quality. No auto-focus? It's clear that Apple added the cheapo camera to keep the premium pricing. Really, if Sony, a company that is not that smart in term of pricing their products, can sell a 16GB MP3 player for $99, I expect Apple to do better.
11. Norah Jones. No Beatles. Nuff said.
So, a pretty lackluster event. The biggest news is, Steve Jobs is alive and well. Apple is missing the mark on everything except the Classic. The 3G Shuffle is as useless as it was, and instead of price drop, Apple upped the premium. The nano, instead of being cheaper, got a questionable video camera, and no significant price drop. The Touch? Where should I begin? Nothing new, weak pricing and featureset vs the ZuneHD. Microsoft, this is your big chance to push the ZuneHD as much as possible. Even better, just drop the price point to $199 and $249 for the 16GB and 32GB ZuneHD respectively. That might give Steve Jobs a bit of headache. Oh, and where's Mac support for the Zune? This is a rare chance for Microsoft to snag some Mac users. However, I doubt that MS is that smart (they cannot even put unicode fonts in the Zune).
Now, taking a step back, let's take a look at the iPod Touch lineup. Did you notice something missing? Yeah, no 16GB! There a jump from 8GB to 32GB. I wonder what is going on here. I can speculate that, assuming the production problems is true, that Apple has to fill the gap quick, and put the 8GB 2G Touch back. The 16GB was reserved for the intended new Touch with camera. Also, in the end, Steve said "See you soon." I'm guessing an October event, introducing the true 3G Touch with video camera, 16GB at $249 and 32GB at $349, filling the gaps nicely, co-existing with the current lineup. Voila! :)
There you go, my impression of the 9/9/09 Apple event, and with some analysis/rumor at the end to boot! :P
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
September Apple event is coming
It's this Wednesday, 9/9/09. I'll be following gdgt for keynote coverage and watching TWIT live for Leo Laporte's commentaries (and occasional live spycam from the keynote). I'll be comparing notes with my own prediction.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
